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| Washington state judge excludes airport from SeaTac's $15 minimum wage Friday, Dec 27, 2013 07:55 PM PST By Jonathan Kaminsky OLYMPIA, Washington (Reuters) - The voter-approved law establishing a $15 minimum hourly wage for travel and hospitality workers in a Seattle suburb encompassing the region's main international airport does not apply to workers at the airport, a judge ruled on Friday. King County Superior Court Judge Andrea Darvas ruled that the city of SeaTac does not have the authority to set workplace rules within Seattle-Tacoma International Airport because the aviation hub is owned by the Port of Seattle, a separate government entity. Supporters of the law, who view it as an example for communities elsewhere to emulate in their fight for a living wage, said they will appeal the decision directly to the Washington state Supreme Court. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. bank watchdogs to consider Volcker rule tweak Friday, Dec 27, 2013 07:07 PM PST By Douwe Miedema WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. bank regulators said on Friday they would consider allowing banks to hold on to certain complex securities despite a new rule limiting risky investments. The announcement came after lenders warned in a lawsuit of hefty losses from the so-called Volcker rule. The Volcker rule prohibits banks from owning hedge funds or private equity funds to reduce risk, but the ban included a type of security community banks regard as harmless. The regulators said they would now reconsider whether these instruments could be made exempt and would make a decision no later than January 15. Full Story | Top |
| A&E calls Phil Robertson back to 'Duck Dynasty' after anti-gay flap Friday, Dec 27, 2013 05:14 PM PST By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable network A&E said on Friday it was bringing back family patriarch Phil Robertson to the hit reality show "Duck Dynasty" after fans protested his suspension over anti-gay remarks and big-name corporate sponsors stuck by the series. Robertson's remarks to GQ magazine and his subsequent suspension by A&E sparked a nationwide debate over tolerance and religion, with conservative politicians and fans saying that Robertson's beliefs were consistent with the Bible. "As a global media content company, A&E Networks' core values are centered around creativity, inclusion and mutual respect," A&E said in a statement released late Friday in the midst of the holiday season. "We believe it is a privilege for our brands to be invited into people's homes and we operate with a strong sense of integrity and deep commitment to these principles." It was a quick reversal for the network that is jointly owned by Walt Disney Co. and privately held Hearst Corp, but the move was not entirely surprising, given the financial commitment at stake. Full Story | Top |
| Apple CEO's 2013 pay steady but sees part of stock award shrink Friday, Dec 27, 2013 04:35 PM PST  Apple Inc CEO Tim Cook earned roughly the same in 2013 as in 2012, but lost part of his performance-based stock award during a year in which intense competition and margin pressure bludgeoned the iPhone maker's stock. Apple's stock lost a quarter of its value over that one-year period. The company also advised shareholders to vote down a resolution by activist investor Carl Icahn, who proposed the iPhone maker buy back $50 billion worth of shares in fiscal 2014. Apple argued on Friday it has already returned $43 billion in dividends and share repurchases over the first six months of its roughly $100 billion capital return program. Full Story | Top |
| 'Knockout game' Texan denied bail on hate crime charge Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:33 PM PST A federal judge denied bond on Friday to a white Texas man charged with punching an elderly black man in a suspected race-based attack that the accused recorded as a video with his cell phone, court records show. Conrad Alvin Barrett, 27, is suspected of striking the 79-year-old victim with a single blow that fractured his jaw in two places, according to the criminal complaint filed in federal court in Houston. He stalked his victim," U.S. Magistrate Judge Frances H. Stacy said in court records on Friday, calling the attack vicious. Barrett was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2004 and has been treated with lithium and an anti-depressant, his lawyer George Parnham said, noting that his client also has a history of substance and alcohol abuse. Full Story | Top |
| Russia says Syrian toxin removal deadline will be missed Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:30 PM PST  By Steve Gutterman MOSCOW (Reuters) - Deadly toxins that were to have been removed from Syria by December 31 under an international effort to rid the country of its chemical arsenal have not yet been delivered to port to be put on ships, a Russian diplomat was quoted as saying on Friday. The deadline will be missed because toxins that can be used to make sarin, VX gas and other agents were being packed up and still faced a potentially hazardous trip to the port of Latakia, RIA news agency quoted Mikhail Ulyanov as saying. Syria has agreed to abandon its chemical weapons by next June under a deal proposed by Russia and hashed out with the United States, after an August 21 sarin gas attack that Western nations blamed on President Bashar al-Assad's government. Damascus agreed to transport the "most critical" chemicals, including around 20 tons of mustard nerve agent, out of the northern port of Latakia by December 31 to be safely destroyed abroad away from the war zone. Full Story | Top |
| A&E puts Phil Robertson back on 'Duck Dynasty' after anti-gay flap Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:17 PM PST By Eric Kelsey LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Cable network A&E said on Friday that Phil Robertson will be allowed to re-join his family in the hit reality show "Duck Dynasty," less than two weeks after the patriarch was suspended over anti-gay comments. Robertson's remarks to GQ magazine and his subsequent suspension by A&E sparked a nationwide debate over tolerance and religion, with conservative politicians and fans saying that Robertson's beliefs were consistent with the Bible. "As a global media content company, A&E Networks' core values are centered around creativity, inclusion and mutual respect," A&E said in a statement released late Friday. "We believe it is a privilege for our brands to be invited into people's homes and we operate with a strong sense of integrity and deep commitment to these principles," added the network, a joint venture of Walt Disney Co. and privately held Hearst Corp. "Duck Dynasty" ranks among the most-watched cable television programs and averages about 8 million viewers per episode. Full Story | Top |
| Abbott Labs settles with U.S. over kickback claims Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:14 PM PST (Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories has agreed to pay the United States $5.48 million to resolve allegations that it paid improper kickbacks to induce doctors to use some of its products, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday. The settlement resolves allegations that Abbott paid well-known doctors for teaching assignments, speaking engagements and conferences, expecting that they would arrange for the hospitals with which they were affiliated to buy Abbott's carotid, biliary and peripheral vascular products. Carotid and peripheral vascular products are implanted to treat circulatory disorders by increasing blood flow, while biliary products are implanted to treat obstructions in the bile ducts, the government said. "Patients have a right to treatment decisions that are based on their own medical needs, not the personal financial interests of their health care providers," Assistant Attorney General Stuart Delery of the Justice Department's civil division said in a statement. Full Story | Top |
| Wall Street ends mostly flat, but scores weekly gains Friday, Dec 27, 2013 03:05 PM PST  By Sam Forgione NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes closed mostly flat on Friday, with the Dow snapping a six-day streak of record closing highs after investors took a break from this week's rally. Shares of Twitter Inc , the social media company that has nearly tripled in value since going public in early November, slid 13 percent to close at $63.75 after investors took profits. Twitter was among the most actively traded stocks on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday. The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 0.25 percent, with leaders like Apple off 0.7 percent at $560.09 and Facebook Inc. down about 4 percent at $55.44. Full Story | Top |
| Italy delays 'Google tax' until July, OKs funds for business, welfare Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:54 PM PST  By James Mackenzie ROME (Reuters) - Italy delayed the start of its planned Internet tax until July 2014, approved billions of euros in business and welfare measures and extended a ban on media cross-ownership in a final package of year-end legislation approved on Friday. The launch of an Internet tax, sometimes dubbed the "Google tax", passed this week by parliament, will be postponed until July, 1, 2014, Prime Minister Enrico Letta's office said in a statement. The tax, designed to ensure that companies that advertise and sell online in Italy do so only through companies with a tax presence in the country, has been criticized by the European Commission, which expressed doubts on its legality before it was approved in parliament. The package announced after Friday's cabinet meeting included measures to allow Italy to use 6.2 billion euros in European Union funds, which have already been approved, to help small businesses, fight youth unemployment and help local economies by funding the maintenance of historic sites. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. court OKs Bank of America $39 million gender bias deal Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:53 PM PST  By Jonathan Stempel and Nate Raymond NEW YORK (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday approved Bank of America Corp's $39 million settlement of a gender discrimination lawsuit by female brokers over objections that the accord would enshrine bias on Wall Street. U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen in Brooklyn, New York called the settlement "in all respects, fair, reasonable, and adequate." The settlement, announced on September 6, resolved claims on behalf of about 4,800 current and former female financial advisers that women were paid less than men, deprived of handling their fair share of lucrative accounts and faced retaliation if they complained. Bank of America bought Merrill in January 2009. Bill Haldin, a spokesman for Bank of America, in an email said the settlement provides for additional steps that "will enrich our existing diversity, inclusion and development programs, providing even more opportunities for women to succeed as financial advisers." The gender bias accord required Bank of America to hire an independent monitor to oversee improvements and a consultant to study how the bank "teams" brokers. Full Story | Top |
| Camera glitch triggers marathon Russian spacewalk Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:44 PM PST  By Irene Klotz CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Spacewalking Russian cosmonauts on Friday spent over eight hours installing two cameras outside the International Space Station for a Canadian streaming-video business and then retrieving the gear due to connectivity problems. Station commander Oleg Kotov and flight engineer Sergey Ryazanskiy left the station's Pirs airlock at 8 a.m. EST (1300 GMT) as the complex sailed 260 miles over Australia, mission commentator Rob Navias said during a NASA Television broadcast of the spacewalk. It was the third spacewalk this week by members of the station's six-man crew. Full Story | Top |
| U.S. judge expands classes in lawsuits over $34 billion mortgage debt Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:42 PM PST  By Jonathan Stempel NEW YORK (Reuters) - A Manhattan federal judge on Friday expanded the scope of class-action litigation accusing banks of concealing the risks of more than $34 billion of mortgage-backed securities prior to the financial crisis. U.S. District Judge Harold Baer said investors may now pursue claims as a group against Citigroup Inc , Goldman Sachs Group Inc and UBS AG over an estimated $11.9 billion of securities. Those offerings were linked to the RALI Mortgage Asset-Backed Pass-Through Certificates, which were issued in 2006 and 2007 by the former Residential Capital LLC. One offering was the subject of a partial $100 million settlement this year. Baer also said investors may pursue a similar case against Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc over an estimated $22.5 billion of securities in 12 offerings linked to the Harborview Mortgage Loan Trusts, which were also created in 2006 and 2007. Full Story | Top |
| Miley Cyrus says after Disney, it was time to be herself Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:19 PM PST  It is sex, drugs and pop music - and Miley Cyrus is fine with it that way now that the provocative singer has shed her innocent Disney star image along with most of her clothes. Cyrus, 21, who has grabbed headlines in the past year for her admitted drug use, sexually suggestive dancing and wearing as little as boots in a music video, said she was surprised by the scrutiny her new persona has attracted. I don't really dress as a teddy bear and, like, twerk on Robin Thicke, you know?" Cyrus, who rose to prominence as a teen star of the Disney musical TV series "Hannah Montana," has become a bad girl of pop music since her performance at the MTV Video Music Awards in September when she "twerked" (a sexually suggestive dance) during a performance of Thicke's hit "Blurred Lines." "I don't have a bunch of celeb friends, because I feel like some of them are a little scared of the association," Cyrus said of her new persona. I'm like, 'Walk out with me right now and get this picture, and this will be the best thing that happens to you, because just you associating with me makes you a little less sweet.'" Cyrus, whose newest music video "Adore You" shows her writhing between bed sheets in her underwear, sucking her thumb and rubbing her body, said she feels more free to be herself now that she is no longer under a Disney contract. Full Story | Top |
| Obama calls senators to back extension on jobless benefits Friday, Dec 27, 2013 02:12 PM PST  HONOLULU (Reuters) - President Barack Obama called Senator Jack Reed, Democrat of Rhode Island, and Senator Dean Heller, Republican of Nevada, on Friday to back their proposal to extend emergency unemployment benefits for three months. Those benefits will expire on Saturday for about 1.3 million Americans. A vote on the Reed/Heller bill is likely in early January, when the U.S. Senate returns from recess. Obama said his administration would push Congress to act promptly and in bipartisan fashion on the issue. Cutting off the benefits will have a negative impact on U.S. ... Full Story | Top |
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